The film, “The House of the Spirits”, based on the classic novel of the same name by Chilean writer Isabel Allende, premiered in Germany on October 17, 1993. The film is the story of a complex Chilean family during the rise of the military dictatorship in Chile. English actor Jeremy Irons stars as the family patriarch, with American actresses Meryl Streep as his wife with psychic powers and Winona Rider as their rebellious politico daughter. Among the talented leading cast, Antonio Banderas was apparently the only Latino available for casting as a Latino.